Community-minded citizens in Wolverhampton are in with a chance of winning £75 every time they place litter or dog mess in a public bin. City of Wolverhampton Council wants to encourage and reward responsible residents and visitors who do their bit to keep Wolverhampton clean and tidy.
A team of council workers who work out and about in the community are issuing raffle tickets to people they see using bins. A winner is drawn each month and gets presented with a cheque for £75. The £75 figure was chosen because it is the same amount as the fixed penalty fine that is given to people who drop litter.
The competition is not costing taxpayers anything because the prizes have been sponsored by contractors who work with the council. So far, two winners have received their cheques – they are Karl Hughes, from Blakenhall and Simon Jones from Stowlawn. The awards were sponsored by contractors RSS Playground Inspection & Maintenance and SJ Pritchard.
Winner Mr Hughes said: “It’s so easy to use a litter bin, you don’t have to walk far to find one in Wolverhampton and if you can’t immediately find one, there is still no excuse to drop litter.” The city council will run the competition for the next two months.
Cllr Steve Evans, cabinet member for city environment, said: “Maintaining a cleaner, greener, better Wolverhampton is one of our priorities. This litter bin raffle is a way of encouraging people to put litter and dog mess in a bin, but also reward people who are doing the right thing.
“The message is use a bin and you might be spotted by our park and countryside rangers or street cleaning supervisors who will give you a raffle ticket and if you get drawn out, you could win £75. “We are delighted that contractors who work for the council has sponsored the competition which means that it isn’t costing taxpayers a penny.”
